Hans Loritz
Oberführer (Senior Colonel) Hans Loritz (12 December 1895, Augsburg – 31 January 1946) joined the SS in September, 1930 and the NSDAP in August, 1930. In 1933, he formed and commanded the Austrian SS Standarte at the Dachau concentration camp.
Commander in concentration camps
In July 1934 Loritz became commander of KZ Esterwegen. He made camp rules stricter, interrogated prisoners and ordered torture. 1935 he was promoted SS-Oberführer. After the close of Esterwegen Loritz became in April 1936 camp commander in Dachau.
His self-enrichment and corruption brought scrutiny from the SS-Verwaltungsamt. He took prisoners to work for his private villa in St. Gilgen at the Wolfgangsee. In July 1939 Loritz was sent against his will to Graz; at once he tried to return to concentration camp service. In December 1939 Loritz was transferred to KZ Sachsenhausen, in March he became regular commandant. He selected prisoners unable to work, who were killed in June 1941 in Sonnenstein Euthanasia Center. The same year he organized the shooting of at least 10,000 Soviet war prisoners.[1]
Loritz became a section leader of the General SS in Klagenfurt.[2] In 1940 Himmler posted him to Sachsenhausen, to replace Walter Eisfeld.[2] He remained until 1942, when he was removed by the suggestion of Oswald Pohl, leader of the SS-WVHA.[2] He was then sent to oversee a camp in Norway.
After the war, he was arrested and imprisoned at the internment camp in Neumünster to await trial by the Soviets; Loritz committed suicide in January 1946.[3]
Ranks and promotions
| Loritz's SS-Ranks[4] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Rank |
| 15 November 1931 | SS-Untersturmführer |
| 11 April 1932 | SS-Hauptsturmführer |
| 23 August 1932 | SS-Sturmbannführer |
| 15 July 1933 | SS-Obersturmbannführer |
| 22 March 1934 | SS-Standartenführer |
| 15 September 1935 | SS-Oberführer |
Notes
- ↑ Dirk Riedel: Ordnungshüter und Massenmörder.... Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-940938-63-3, S. 351.
- 1 2 3 Hoess et al., p 202
- ↑ Spector, Robert Melvin (2004). "The Konzentrationlager". World without civilization. Volume I. University Press of America. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-7618-2963-8. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ↑ Johannes Tuchel: Konzentrationslager: Organisationsgeschichte und Funktion der Inspektion der Konzentrationslager 1934–1938. 1991, p. 383.
Bibliography
- Dirk Riedel: Ordnungshüter und Massenmörder im Dienst der "Volksgemeinschaft": Der KZ-Kommandant Hans Loritz. Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-940938-63-3.
- Rudolf Hoess, Constantine Fitzgibbon, Primo Levi. Commandant of Auschwitz: The Autobiography of Rudolf Hoess. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2000. ISBN 978-1-84212-024-8
- ALLGEMEINE-SS: THE COMMANDS, UNITS, AND LEADERS OF THE GENERAL SS. Schiffer Publishing, 1997 Mark C. Yerger